by Chris Becker Stocks are jumping out of the gate to start the trading week in a positive mood, following the surge on Wall Street on Friday night which gave a united signal to the risk complex to buy up (almost) everything. Gold is back above the $1800USD per ounce level as other undollars rebound
By Chris Becker Another divergence in risk on Friday with Asian share markets having a red session to finish the week, while despite a big surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths in the US, Wall Street pulled a swifty and rocked the risk complex with another solid session. US inflation measures remained soft, helping add
Stocks are falling going into the close here in Asia as the trading week ends and markets gear up for earnings season on Wall Street next week. Gold is just hanging on to the $1800USD per ounce level as other undollars feel the rebound of the stronger USD on the risk aversion trade. S&P futures
by Chris Becker Save for the record high bubblicious NASDAQ, Wall Street is stalling out in the new financial year as the dual impact of the upcoming presidential election and the disastrous effect of the coronavirus takes hold. But good news everybody – earning season is around the corner! Wall Street goes through this every
by Chris Becker Things aren’t looking up for the Australian dollar with ANZ out with another downgrade of local economic growth, looking at a 2% drop for the third quarter due to the lockdown in Victoria: with the whole of Melbourne metropolitan and Mitchell local government areas locked down, we estimate the rebound in activity
by Chris Becker There was an unusual blip in the amount of Americans who died from COVID-19 reported on Tuesday, that could have been written off (as sick as that sounds) as the usual weekend anomaly, whereby deaths over the weekend – in this case a 3 day weekend due to 4th of July holiday
By Chris Becker Risk sentiment continues to grow negative – outside of tech stocks – with Wall Street falling in response to the US Supreme Court ruling on the fraud-in-chief’s tax returns and the rising death toll and positive caseload from coronavirus. The USD firmed overnight as did bond yields, while only oil fell in
by Chris Becker Iron ore continued its surge yesterday with spot Tianjin prices up above the $107 barrier, while 12month futures gained, but shorter term prices slipped alongside rebar and coking coal. Here’s the table and latest charts: Iron ore imports to China have fallen to their lowest level since October 2016, according to Steelhome,
It’s all green again across Asian stock markets, and despite rising COVID-19 cases in Tokyo, Japanese authorities are looking to ease restrictions within the nation, boosting economic hopes, while locally the chance of further lockdowns has had no impact on the ASX200, at least for today. Meanwhile, gold continues to hold above $1800USD per ounce
by Chris Becker Share markets are lifting across Asia with the ASX200 finally looking to put on gains, but still short of the 6000 point barrier: Meanwhile the PBOC is on a tear again, this time reducing the Yuan fix from 7.0207 down to almost parity at 7.0085, taking advantage of USD weakness it seems!
By Chris Becker Risk sentiment remained sour overnight until Wall Street opened, with traders (bots) jumping on optimistic comments from the Fed’s Bullard and hyper-deluded comments from VP Pence about the coronavirus outbreak in the southern US states. The USD sold off in response, despite European concerns over Brexit (remember that?) from Chancellor Merkel, which
by Chris Becker One of the major takeaways from the coronavirus epidemic has been the inability of Australian politics to adopt a more Machiavellian method in dealing with Communist China. There are many layers to Australia’s relationship with the Middle Kingdom, but the most brutish is the amazing amount of iron ore that is pumped
by Chris Becker It’s my favourite time of the month – checking out the latest content from the RBA Chart Pack! Let’s dive in…. First it’s all about the GDP’s, all in the toilet for the biggest economies as COVID-19 bites: Meanwhile in Australia, the trend has been down for years: And in the last
by Chris Becker APRA have given another reprieve in the fight to stop Australian households defaulting on their mortgages with another payment holiday/restructure period extension, pushing out the fantasy of mortgage repayments for another four months: The confirmation of the waiver follows the announcement that lenders will extend the repayment holidays of customers who have deferred
by Chris Becker Iron ore prices shot out of the gates again yesterday, with spot prices up more than 3% with steel rebar futures up nearly 2%, lifting for five days in a row. Here’s the full price list and charts: The rally in steel prices may be due to a low inventory level with
Outside China, risk sentiment is falling again with stock markets in retreat here in Asia with Eurostoxx and US futures looking to start poorly as well. The gold price remains static at just under the $1800USD per ounce level while other undollars are gaining with Euro and the Aussie dollar lifting while Yen becomes bid
by Chris Becker There’s been a muted response to the falls on Wall Street in Asian trade so far, with Chinese stocks leading the way again, but notably both Australian and Japanese share markets are scratching along as traders weigh the risk of more local COVID-19 outbreaks (including one in Okinawa, imported by US military)
by Chris Becker The Australian dollar had a rollercoaster ride following the RBA’s hold on interest rates yesterday at its latest board meeting, with FX markets pushing the Pacific Peso around the 69 handle after a recent strong uptrend (rising black line), culminating in a break of that level before a swing and a miss
by Chris Becker With yet another industrialised nation announcing a record government deficit (Canada this time with $300bn, close to our own $240bn), and central banks furiously papering up over massive cracks in the global economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s no wonder that the Minsky Metal is on a tear, almost
By Chris Becker Global risk sentiment soured again overnight in response to more coronavirus fears, with Brazil’s autocratic Bolsanoro now infected, while US deaths spiked to a new daily high, almost reaching a thousand (although likely a lag from long weekend of little reporting). Wall Street slipped, pulling European stocks with them, while bond yields
by Chris Becker The iron ore complex played catchup to other risk markets with sizeable gains across spot and futures in China and on the SGX yesterday, although coking coal slipped slightly. Here’s the price matrix and daily charts: Iron ore shipments have slipped for the last week in China, helping support prices, down nearly
Sentiment swung back to hesitation this afternoon here in Asia with most bourses reversing course from its sharp rise to the start of the trading week, led by dual breakouts of coronavirus – both Tokyo and Victoria. The euphoria over the surge in Chinese shares is wearing off with US and Euro futures looking down
by Chris Becker At its latest meeting the Reserve Bank has held its cash rate at the record 0.25% low. Australian dollar flitted immediately with the 69.50 level but is coming back after tapping out just below the 70 handle earlier today (and in time with my “Aussie could go to 80cents” post!) Reserve Bank
by Chris Becker Leading into the afternoon session, Aussie stocks are going nowhere, unable to move higher despite another big surge in mainland Chinese issues and the lift from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious going into today’s RBA meeting (2.30pm AEST): The Shanghai Composite has gapped nearly 2% higher at the open almost
by Chris Becker The COVID-19 pandemic seemed to be the last blow for the beleaguered Pacific Peso, dropping fast alongside other risk assets like stocks from 70 cents to 55 cents: But it has now fully “recovered” with an equally remarkable rally, now stabilising around the 69 handle against USD, while its cousin, the Kiwi
by Chris Becker Well, if you open up your economy again – and damn the COVID-19 torpedoes – you’re going to get a recovery, and that’s what the June non-manufacturing ISM print showed overnight, providing yet another catalyst for US stocks to head higher. The texture from ISM: The ISM Non-Manufacturing Report on Business PMI
By Chris Becker Risk markets shot out the gate to start the week with fresh vigor, with more economic upside expectations overshadowing rising pandemic concerns across the US and other emerging countries. The US services ISM survey showed a substantial increase although employment continued to lag, but this didn’t stop Wall Street bidding up everything
by Chris Becker Iron ore lifted around 0.5% across the complex compared to the big gains in stocks in China yesterday, the exuberance capped somewhat by the rising port inventories and confirmation that Vale is ready to bring back its lost production in the next quarter. Here’s the price matrix and daily charts: More on
A surge in Chinese shares is spurring on risk appetites across the region, with stocks lifting strongly this afternoon, taking risk currencies like the Australian dollar with them but leaving gold and the ASX200 behind. The reason behind the catalyst is unclear, apart from a technical one – its a five year high for Chinese
by Chris Becker The start of the trading week has seen mainland Chinese stocks soar, with the Shanghai Composite up nearly 3% in midday trade, now putting on nearly 20% from its lows and building above the 3000 point barrier: Meanwhile, other Asian bourses are up solidly, except the ASX200 which is treading water after
